The face was different, the words familiar. Like Mike Shanahan and nearly every recent Washington Redskins coach, Jay Gruden is eager to declare an end to the franchise’s days of dysfunction.

“I don’t know what happened last year,” Gruden said. “I know from interviewing with Dan Snyder and Bruce Allen and everybody here that the passion for excellence is there. All they want to do is win, and they’re going to provide me with every avenue to win.”

Gruden, the Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator, was introduced yesterday as the man charged with ending the perpetual state of turmoil the Redskins have endured under owner Snyder and recently under general manager Allen.

Gruden was a given a five-year contact for his first NFL head-coaching gig, taking over a 3-13 team that has finished last in the NFC East five of the past six seasons.

“We have to get it right,” said Allen, who led interviewed six candidates. “We need to get the franchise back on track in a winning direction. … We were looking for a new leader, somebody who can inspire our football team. We knew it was more than just X’s and O’s, it was about finding the right person to build a team chemistry that we needed.”

Gruden is Snyder’s eighth coach in 15 seasons as owner. Unlike Shanahan, who was fired last week, Gruden will not have final say over all football matters. He will report to Allen, who has taken charge of assembling the roster and other personnel decisions.

Gruden, 46, spent the past three seasons as offensive coordinator of the Bengals, where his skill in helping to develop Andy Dalton will no doubt be of use when he takes on the task of grooming another young franchise quarterback, Robert Griffin III.

Gruden praised the talents of Griffin and spoke of the need to build a “genuine” trust with the quarterback. Griffin returned from major knee surgery to start 13 games, but he publicly disagreed with some of Shanahan’s decisions, struggled as a drop-back passer and was benched for the final three weeks.

“Every trait that a quarterback has to have to be successful, I see Robert having all of those,” Gruden said. “So why wouldn’t you want to coach a guy like that? … I’m going to let him know that I’m a trustworthy guy. He’s also got to understand that I expect a lot from the starting quarterback.”

Bengals updates

The Bengals named running backs coach Hue Jackson their new offensive coordinator. Meanwhile, the Tennessee Titans interviewed Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer for its coaching job. Zimmer has been Cincinnati’s coordinator since 2008, and his defense ranked No. 3 overall this season.

Dolphins set interview

A person familiar with the situation said the Cleveland Browns have given Miami permission to interview assistant general manager Ray Farmer for the Dolphins’ GM opening.